Senate May Back Tax Fix

Revision Effort Is Given Chance To Succeed Today

Senate May Approve Revision Of Income Tax

An amendment to the state income tax that would ease the burden on many middle-class families may pass the state Senate today, giving new life to the "repair" effort that seemed dead three weeks ago.

"I think there is some realistic hope that it will pass," said Sen. Kevin B. Sullivan, D-West Hartford, a sponsor of the amendment. Others share that view, including some who do not plan to vote for it.

Also given a chance of passage are proposals for an advisory referendum on the income tax and what is known as a sunset provision -- a date by which the tax would be repealed unless the legislature re-adopted it.

The House approved a similar package of income tax proposals by a 92-57 vote in the waning hours of the regular session May 6. The bill died because the Senate had no time to act on it.

The potential revival of repair was the main event Tuesday as the legislature reconvened in a special session to act on bills necessary to implement the 1992-93 state budget.

One reason it stole the show is that so little action took place on the floor. The House stayed home until today and the Senate, usually a model of legislative productivity, took all day to pass eight bills.

Among the eight were bills authorizing $360 million in bonding for grant and loan programs, postponing the start of vision screening for driver's license renewals and allowing the state to publicize the names of "deadbeat dads" -- absent parents who fail to pay child support.

The Senate also voted to create needle exchange programs in Hartford and Bridgeport modeled after the New Haven program, which is regarded as helping slow the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome among drug addicts.

The eight bills were sent to the House.

In all, about two dozen bills are necessary to allow the administration of Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. to meet the spending and revenue targets in the $8.08 billion budget that was passed and

signed into law earlier this month.

Repair of the income tax is not one of those bills, but Sullivan and other Democratic senators plan to attach a repair amendment to another bill.

The crucial question, said Sen. George C. Jepsen, D-Stamford, another repair backer, is whether three or four Republicans will break with their party to support it.

"It really comes down to how many Republicans will come on board, and I haven't been sitting in on their caucuses," he said. "I hear very, very, very encouraging things, though."

The Senate passed the income tax by a 19-18 vote last year, with Lt. Gov. Eunice S. Groark casting the tie-breaking vote. It had the support of 16 Democrats and two Republicans.

Jepsen said the 16 Democratic votes are still there for repair, but one of the Republicans is not and the other is not certain. Another complication is that Groark's vote, a sure thing for the income tax, cannot be counted on for repair, especially if the bill also comes with a referendum and sunset plan.

Even if repair passes in the Senate and the House, it is possible that Weicker -- who generally opposes advisory referendums -- could veto it.

Senate Minority Leader M. Adela Eads, R-Kent, confirmed that some of her GOP colleagues might support repair if it were coupled with an Election Day referendum in November and a sunset plan.

A referendum proposal drafted by Democratic senators, including the two majority leaders, would schedule the income tax referendum in January so it would not coincide with elections of state legislators and the state's congressional delegation.

Eads said the extent of support for repair among Republican senators will not be known until a specific amendment is placed before them.

"There were some who thought they might go for repair," Eads said, referring to talk in a GOP caucus Tuesday, "but they would not commit themselves without seeing the numbers."

The numbers being readied Tuesday by Sullivan, Jepsen and others show a reduction in rates on middle-income wage earners who have children. This would be offset by higher rates on the upper class -- couples with incomes of $150,000 and up.

The three major changes in the existing income tax would be:

A dependent exemption would be created of $2,000 per child for couples earning less than $100,000 a year and $1,000 per child for couples earning between $100,000 and $200,000 a year.

Basic exemptions would be phased out over a larger spread of income, giving people in higher brackets a break. Under current law, the $24,000 basic exemption for a couple is eliminated for all couples earning more than $72,000. The repair plan would raise that cutoff point to $102,000.

A new 6.75 percent rate would be applied to income in the top brackets. The current tax has a flat rate of 4.5 percent, although the effective rate for most taxpayers is lower because of exemptions and other features.

An analysis of the plan by Rep. Geri W. Langlois, D-Thompson, a co-sponsor of the House repair bill, shows a couple with two children and earning $70,000 a year would save $810 in taxes under the Senate plan.